The Origins of "Skibidi" Are Baffling — But What Does It Mean?

The Gist:

• The term "skibidi" is derived from the skibidi toilet trend.
• Some assume the term is used as a synonym for "bad" or "evil."
• Unfortunately, there is not an exact or agreed-upon definition, which makes its use confusing to many.

There are few trends on the internet that don't need at least a little bit of context to make sense, but as the younger generation continues to become more internet-savvy and build their own communities online, there's a lot of slang that's baffling to even the most chronically-online Gen Z or Millennial.

The skibidi toilet trend is probably one of the most confusing ones on the internet at the moment (though most of Gen Alpha's trends seem to make little sense). The series of videos depicts various toilets with heads growing out of the bowls, dancing, singing, and committing various heinous acts.

But what exactly does "skibidi" mean? Unfortunately, the answer to that question isn't an easy one.

Though "skibidi" is a term used often online, specifically with younger internet users, it does not necessarily have an exact meaning. The word was originally used as a song title for a single by the Russian rave band Little Big in 2018, though it seems to be unrelated to the current and crazy head-sprouting toilets.

Urban Dictionary has a handful of user-submitted definitions, each just as uncertain as the last, though most of the definitions suggest it is only used in conversations filled with "brain rot."

"It is the worst meme possibly conceived if you can even consider it a meme," one answer reads. "It is so unbelievably wretched and cretinous to where anyone over the age of [five] knows that it is terrible... The meme is so terrible and absolutely f--king atrocious that it makes me, and several other groups of people, want to rip their eyes out."

"A word used by gamers who are on YouTube Shorts every day and are on a 3000-day streak of being virgin," another definition implies. "This word is used when the gamer wants to be funny and [tries] to say someone else's joke louder than them."

There is no agreed-upon definition of "skibidi," though Daily Mail is the only outlet to seem to discern what those who use it could be implying. According to the outlet, the term is "used in gaming to describe someone who is evil or bad."

This seems to be because the skibidi toilets (the dancing ones with heads coming out of the bowls in videos online) are known to be evil, trying to take over the world. How does a toilet commit acts of violence? Your guess is as good as mine.

That said, this definition does not make complete sense in all contexts, so it's possible this isn't really what it means, or that the word has multiple definitions. If you want to know with confidence what "skibidi" really means, you may have to ask a member of Gen Alpha to understand fully.